La Cappuccina/ Le Piane

La Cappuccina in an Agriturismo in Cureggio in northern Piemonte. They have a farm, restaurant, make their own cheese from the milk from their goats, everything is made in house from scratch, perfect spot for us to visit and work. We were welcomed when we arrived at La Cappuccina by 2 giant German Shepards that were fairly scary at first sight. Turned out they were 2 of the friendliest dogs I have met, but you never know... We arrived at La Cappuccina on theTuesday before Thanksgiving. The restaurant is closed Sunday-Wednesday, we did not work on Thursday because of Thanksgiving (I posted pictures of our feast before). We arrived into the kitchen at 1:30 in the afternoon. I was immediately put on roasted potato duty for a 50 person party that evening. The menu consisted of a Roasted Rabbit Terrine wrapped in Lardo and served over a fennel and cabbage salad, cauliflower Sformato with Bagna Caoda (classic Piemontese sauce made from anchovies, garlic, olive oil, milk, and a touch of flour) Braised beef Agnolotti with a beef jus and butter, brasato di manzo with roasted potatoes, and gelato with a warm Zabaglione sauce. We were given much more meaningful tasks at La Cappuccina than at Zamboni. It was a very small kitchen, just 3 of us to start, then one more cook came later on. The food was very good. Simply done, very flavorful ingredients that are not overthought, and showcasing the freshness. The following days menu was all the same, a set menu for the entire week. It was a very nice menu and well executed by the staff.
Le Piane- Many of you already know Christoph of Le Piane in Boca from the dinner at Tomasso a few months ago. Christoph invited us to see the vineyard after the dinner, so we did not hesitate to take him up on that offer, any chance to taste Le Piane wines. The town of Boca has an interesting story. Back in the 50's it was a giant growing region for wines, and the landscape was very similar to Barolo which is covered with vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see. Nowadays many of the wonemakers have moved on. There are only 11 producers in all of Boca, a big jump from the 3 that were there when Christoph took over the winery in 1998. The entire landscape now has overgrown forrests where the vineyards used to be. This almost became a non wine growing region, but it would be a shame. The wines that are produced at Le Piane are very impressive and the landscape that is being tended to is beautiful. We spent about 4 hours with Christoph driving up and down the vineyards, visiting the cellar, and tasting his wines and the wines that the estate produced before he took over. We even got to taste a Passito wine that they are playing around with and may be released into the market in a couple years. Anybody who has the chance to visit northern Piemonte must go visit Le Piane. They also have a apartment available for rent which is the picture on the label. There is so much more to add to both these experiences, but I want to save some of the dialogue for when we are back and can talk rather than type. Right now we are in Barolo, and we head to Asti in two days to work at Campanaro with Duilio for a week. Hopefully I can update then on some of the wineries visited here including Erbaluna, Vajra, Ascheri, & Deltetto.